Appropriate Age for Romance/Erotica/Thriller

kuwisdelu

kuwisdelu

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I'd say more than anything it depends on the publishers to which you plan to submit (and their location).
 

scarletpeaches

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Most erotica publishers specify over 18 or 21.

I think 21 would be a safe bet if only because that would satisfy most nationalities.

You could probably get away with 18, though.

My youngest lead character was 21 for a couple of reasons -- I stayed on the right side of the law in the country of my publisher, and the character got to go to university instead of high school.
 
WriterDude

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kuwisdelu said:
If all else fails, resubmit it as edgy YA. ;)
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Sounds right. 16 is the age on consent in Blighty, and many are active and unfortunately having children too, way below that.

My present piece covers 'young adults' enjoying their last free hedonistic summer before starting University and changing their lives forever. In some places, that would categorise them as minors, but not here. Legal to drive, legal to drink, to buy homes, raise families, start a business, but not be depicted in a story. Its a funny old world.
 
Anjasa

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I don't know how many eroticas start with 'it was her 18th birthday'.
 

scarletpeaches

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Anjasa said:
I haven't! What'd I miss?
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A lot of self-published authors are putting works up there which are closer to porn than erotic romance, and a heck of a lot of it involves eighteenth birthdays, sexual awakenings and very close relatives.
 
Anjasa

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Haha. Yea... You know, I always wonder if those are big selling themes (Daddy gives his baby her 18th birthday gift!) or if people just figure that's what people want...

I'd bet 90% of erotica on smashwords revolves around 18 year old female or 'step' family.
 
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kuwisdelu

kuwisdelu

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Huh. I'd have figured one of the draws of self-publishing would be that you wouldn't have to worry about a publisher rejecting your underage characters.
 
Anjasa

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kuwisdelu said:
Huh. I'd have figured one of the draws of self-publishing would be that you wouldn't have to worry about a publisher rejecting your underage characters.
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Book distributers could still reject selling your book, though.
 

scarletpeaches

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My point was, some erotica does start with "It was her eighteenth birthday..." That's all. Nothing to do with self-publishing, book distibution, third party sites.

(Except for ARe selling such books, that is. They bill themselves as a romance site, but much of the self-published work they sell is actually erotica, which is a different genre entirely.)
 
kuwisdelu

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scarletpeaches said:
My point was, some erotica does start with "It was her eighteenth birthday..." That's all. Nothing to do with self-publishing, book distibution, third party sites.
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I thought that was what Anjasa was originally trying to point out:

Anjasa said:
I don't know how many eroticas start with 'it was her 18th birthday'.
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Anjasa

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I only brought up smashwords after taking a look through there and just boggling at how common that plotline is. It was almost every single story when I checked it out last time.
 
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